WNBA Playoff Bracket 2019: Full Schedule and Matchups for Entire Postseason

The regular season is complete and the bracket is set for the 2019 WNBA playoffs.

Entering Sunday, the eight-team postseason field was already locked in and the Washington Mystics and Connecticut Sun had secured the first and second overall seeds, respectively. As a result, they're already through to the semifinals, bypassing the single-elimination first and second rounds.

Sunday's results cemented the remaining six seeds. Here's a look at the eight playoff teams, with the full schedule available at WNBA.com.

2019 WNBA Playoff Field

1. Washington Mystics

2. Connecticut Sun

3. Los Angeles Sparks

4. Las Vegas Aces

5. Chicago Sky

6. Seattle Storm

7. Minnesota Lynx

8. Phoenix Mercury

2019 WNBA Playoff Schedule

First Round: Sept. 11

Second Round: Sept. 15

Semifinals: Sept. 17-26

Finals: Sept. 29-Oct. 10

The reigning champion Seattle Storm will host the Minnesota Lynx in the opening round on Wednesday, with the Phoenix Mercury hitting the road to meet the Chicago Sky.

From there, the highest-seeded team to advance from the round will play the Las Vegas Aces and the lower-seeded team will move on to face the Los Angeles Sparks.

One could argue the league should at the very least adopt a best-of-five format for more than just the semifinals and WNBA Finals, but the current structure undoubtedly raises the stakes in the first two rounds.

The Sun, for instance, finished fourth in 2017 and 2018, thus earning a bye to the second round. In each season, Connecticut lost at home to Phoenix and went home earlier than expected.

Head coach Curt Miller found the best way to avoid a similar fate: bypassing the first two rounds altogether.

The Sun boast an impressive balance, sitting third in offensive rating (100.3) and fifth in defensive rating (96.8). They're also averaging 7.5 made three-pointers (second-best) and shooting 35.6 percent from beyond the arc (third-best).

Jonquel Jones is the kind of player who can present serious matchup problems, even when opposing coaches have the luxury of zeroing in on her for a postseason series. Jones is averaging 14.6 points, 9.7 rebounds and 2.0 blocks while shooting 30.9 percent from long range.

The problem for Connecticut—and everybody else for that matter—is whether the Mystics can be stopped.

Washington owns a 14.8 net rating, largely on the strength of an offense that's averaging 112.8 points per 100 possessions. To put that number in perspective, only two teams in WNBA history (the Houston Comets in 1998 and 2000) had a higher net rating to end the regular season.

The Mystics reached the WNBA Finals in 2018, but Elena Delle Donne's knee injury meant they stood little chance against the Storm and got swept in three games.

Now, Delle Donne is fully healthy and potentially on course to collect her second MVP. She set a career high in effective field-goal percentage (57.6 percent) and earned her second-best defensive rating (94.8). The 30-year-old is the best player without a WNBA title, and she's clearly looking to cross that achievement off her career checklist.

Washington can count on Emma Meesseman, who sat out the 2018 season in preparation, this time around as well. Meesseman didn't miss a beat upon returning, averaging 13.1 points and 4.2 rebounds while connecting on 42.2 percent of her long-range opportunities.

Between how well they've played so far and the added motivation they'll have to avenge last year's Finals loss, the Mystics are the clear title favorites.

Stats are courtesy of WNBA.com unless otherwise noted